Telephone Wires
by Ms D Longbottom
Summary: This is my submission for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Arthur Weasley finds himself in detention when Molly Prewett arrives to cheer him up with a special surprise. What could it be? Please read and review! This is my first Molly/Arthur story so it was a bit out of my comfort zone and the theme was friendship!


**AUTHORS NOTE:**

**The Quidditch League Fan Fiction Competition.**

**Team: Pride of Portree **

**Position: Chaser one: Molly/Arthur **

**Topic: Friendship **

**Prompts: **_**Dialogue: "What on earth are you doing?**___**Postcards**

(*Note that muggle studies can be taken up by Hogwarts students in their third year. So this puts Molly and Arthur in their 4th year)

Arthur Weasley had never been a lover of potions. Muggle studies... now that was a fascinating subject! Even though he'd only been taking the class for the past year. However in this instance it was the fact that Arthur hated potions and had not been paying attention during class that he managed to land himself a week's worth of detentions; for leaving his cauldron unattended. Which had then caused it to boil over scolding the slytherin boy sitting next to him.

"Right then Mr Weasley. You shall serve your detention in the trophy room this evening. I want the Slytherin Cabinet polished and no magic, my boy understood?" Professor Slughorn announced.

"Yes Sir" He sighed handing his wand over to the potions master.

"I'll be back in a few hours. See to it that cabinet is spotless." The Professor chuckled and headed back towards his office.

Arthur rolled up the sleeves of his robes and began scrubbing the trophies of the Slytherin cabinet. How did they ever manage to get so grimy anyway? All they ever did was stay perched on the shelf. He had a theory that the professors must make the trophies look terrible on purpose for the sake of giving their detention students something mind numbingly boring to do. He'd been working for almost a half hour and was sweating quite heavily when a voice called out from behind him.

"What on earth are you doing?"

His dear friend Molly Prewett was leaned against the door frame looking at him rather bemused.

"Oh hi Molly. Detention" He explained.

"Slughorn?" She asked. He nodded. "Want some help then?"

Before a single word could leave his mouth; Molly had whipped her wand out and swished it around, casting a non verbal spell on the trophies. Sure enough they began scrubbing themselves at a rapid pace. Smiling triumphantly she stashed her wand away in her pocket.

"Thanks Molls. I owe you one." He replied thankfully, wiping the beads of sweat that had formed on his brow.

"Hey what are friends for?"

"I'm just lucky to have one who's good at non-verbal cleaning spells" He laughed.

"You owe me a butter beer next Hogsmeade visit Weasley" She teased.

"Gladly. How'd you know where to find me anyway?"

"Woman's intuition, I've got a surprise for you" She smiled. "I had Fabien send it in the owl post"

"What is it?" He asked intrigued rolling his sleeves back down.

"Come up to the common room and find out."

"Ugh I can't. I should really wait here for Slughorn. He has my wand." He moaned.

"Where's your sense of Gryffindor courage? Come on ol' sluggy won't be back for ages yet. You've got plenty of time."

"Oh alright" He huffed.

The pair walked together in silence back to Gryffindor tower. Mostly because Arthur was too tired to bother holding up a conversation and was saving his energy for guessing what his surprise was. In fact he was so focused on this train of thought that he didn't notice that they were approaching the portrait of the fat lady. Molly uttered the password.

"Postcards"

He stumbled into the portrait whole after her and was greeted by his surprise sitting on a coffee table in the centre of the room.

"Is that what I think it is?" He asked in awe.

"Yup. I noticed how excited you got learning about them in muggle studies the other week and your birthday is coming up so... SURPRISE!" She squealed. "It's a Swedish Ericsson 1001 model, from 1939 according to Fabien." She continued reading from a letter. "Whatever that means"

On the table was a muggle telephone. As Molly had described a Swedish Ericsson 1001. It was pitch black, the edges were rounded, it had a silver metal dial roller and the cord was coiled. In Arthur's eyes it was true muggle perfection.

"Molly... I... I don't know what to say. It's amazing!" He said gleefully. Running his fingers over the smoothed surface.

"You're welcome" She laughed. "It won't work properly here at Hogwarts of course since we don't have electricity. But I thought you could keep it in your dorm for now and set it up when you go home for the Summer?"

"Of course, of course! Oh but who to call?"

"Why don't you try Holly?" She supplied.

"Holly Finch? The muggle born?" He questioned confused. He could feel heat rising in his cheeks. He'd had crush on Holly Finch for the past few months.

"Oh don't act coy Arthur Weasley I know you fancy the pants of her." She replied smugly.

"Well...I...Err..." He stuttered, the colour rising in his cheeks.

Molly pulled a scrap of parchment from beneath her robes.

"Holly's number. I got it off her in herbology. Told her I was buying you a phone and that she was the only person I could think of that probably had one too. She happily obliged to give me this." She said, holding the parchment out to him.

He took the crumbled piece of parchment from her out stretched hand and turned it over. She was right; written in a neatly linked scrawl was Holly's name, address and phone number. Arthur let out a grin from ear to ear.

"Make that two butter beers then shall we Weasley?"

"I am your servant for the rest of the year Prewett. This is wicked! How did I ever manage to land myself a good friend like you? No scrap that. How did I ever manage to land myself a _bloody brilliant_ friend like you?"

"Personally I think it's the hair that did it for you. Us gingers have to stick together you know" She joked.

"Well either way Molly Prewett I am in your debt for the rest of the year. Oh I can't wait!" He called out excitedly.

"But first things first Weasley..."

"What's that?"

"Don't you need to get back to Slughorn?"

"Merlin's Pants!" He yelled bolting for the portrait hole, leaving Molly left with nothing to do but laugh.


End file.
